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2016 Season Preview
January 21, 2016 06:09 PM | Tennis
With the mix of six veteran returners and four highly touted freshmen, the West Virginia University women’s tennis team enters the 2016 season more ready than ever before. The Mountaineers return six student-athletes (Hailey Barrett, Lyn Yuen Choo, Carolina Lewis, Yvon Martinez, Kaja Mrgole and Habiba Shaker) from the 2015 squad, all of whom saw Big 12 action last season. In addition to the six returners, West Virginia welcomes four newcomers to the mix, as Hannah Cseplo, Paula Goetz, Abigail Rosiello and Kirsten White compete for the first time on the collegiate stage this season.
As third-year coach Miha Lisac previews the 2016 season, he reflects on the 2015 fall slate and discusses his expectations for the upcoming spring dual-match season.
2015 Fall Season
This fall, the Mountaineers competed in five tournaments. Shaker led the team with nine singles wins, followed by Barrett and Choo with eight and seven victories, respectively. The doubles tandems of Barrett and Martinez, Lewis and Choo and Mrgole and Shaker all posted 4-3 doubles records. The team tallied a 67-64 combined record this fall.
“We are working on the right things going into the spring season,” Lisac noted. “Each and every player has improved, and we are also improving as a team. We are not far off, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, there is more work to be done, but we can see that we are capable of playing well and can capitalize on points when given the opportunity.”
Focus on Doubles
This spring, the Mountaineers are looking for more consistent results in singles and doubles play. With the level of play in the Big 12, West Virginia has to be ready to perform each and every match. WVU looks to draw more confidence as they compete against some of the nation’s top-ranked teams this season.
“With (assistant coach) Emily (Harman) on board, we were able to dedicate a lot of our time to doubles play this fall,” Lisac explained. “We were able to take steps forward in doubles play, and I firmly believe that the results will start to show in the spring semester. Hopefully, we will win doubles points more consistently this spring.
“In the past, we have showed some potential in doubles play, but overall, it was very inconsistent. Even though doubles is only worth one point, it is probably the most important point. A lot of close matches come to a 4-3 result. I believe that we will be able to draw a lot more confidence with the way that we are going to come out and perform in matches this year.”
A Young Squad
Eighty percent of the Mountaineers’ 2015-16 roster is underclassmen. Heading into the fall, last year’s four freshmen showed a lot of potential. Choo, Lewis and Shaker tallied a 30-win season (singles and doubles), while Martinez recorded a 20-win season (singles and doubles). Lewis was the first player since 2003 to tally 20 singles wins in a season, as she ended her freshman campaign with a 24-6 singles record. The freshmen class alone recorded a 70-34 singles record throughout the 2014-15 season.
Fresh Faces
This season, the Mountaineers add Cseplo, Goetz, Rosiello and White to the 2015-16 roster. White and Rosiello hail from West Virginia as the No. 1 and No. 2 recruits in the state, respectively. A native of Charleston, West Virginia, White was a four-year letterwinner at Georgetown High and played at the No. 1 singles and doubles position. Rosiello hails from Morgantown, where she led Morgantown High to its first team state championship in school history her senior year.
Goetz comes to Morgantown from Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany, where she competed in the 2013 and 2014 ITF Junior Circuits to reach the quarterfinals. A native of Concord Township, Ohio, Cseplo trained at the Gomez Tennis Academy in Naples, Florida, and competed in the ITF Pro and Junior Circuits as well.
“I believe that they have the desire to make this program a success,” Lisac stated. “They have the capacity to do so, and they have showed resilience and perseverance throughout the fall semester. They pushed through certain levels, and they raised their preparation and work ethic to a higher level. That’s the beginning of the process, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Our goal is to be at our best tennis by the end of the spring semester going into the Big 12 Championship.”
Lone Senior Hailey Barrett
A native of Lansing, Michigan, Barrett is the lone senior on the team. In three seasons, Barrett has played primarily at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles and doubles position.
Last spring, Barrett tallied a 20-win season (singles/doubles) with an overall record of 22-22. She tallied eight wins at the No. 2 singles slot, and scored a win against Baylor’s then-ranked No. 82 Rachael James-Baker, marking her first victory of the season over a ranked opponent on March 27.
“Hailey has grown tremendously in the last two years,” Lisac noted. “Unfortunately, she has been dealing with some injury issues, so she hasn’t been able to perform at her best yet. It looks like this semester will be her best year yet, and we are very excited about it.
“Regardless of the fact that she hasn’t been able to perform at her best, she has been that steady part of the team. She is always setting an example and doing the right things.”
A sport management major, Barrett was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team her freshman year and landed on the Academic All-Big 12 First Team the last two seasons. At the end of her junior campaign, Barrett was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar Athlete and was selected to participate in the 2015 NCAA Career in Sports Forum. She also was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s and Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll during each semester of play.
“Hailey has been the rock of this program,” Lisac explained. “It is unfortunate that she is a senior, but at the same time, I have been very happy with the way she has progressed on and off the court. She is prepared for life after being a part of this program, which is one of the major things that I always look at it.”
Junior Focus
A native of Jesenice, Slovenia, Mrgole is the lone junior on the team. In two seasons, she has played primarily at the No. 1 singles position. Last spring, Mrgole tallied a 20-win season (singles/doubles) with an overall record of 25-37. She tallied nine singles wins throughout the spring season.
Majoring in exercise physiology, Mrgole was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team her freshman year and landed on the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team as a sophomore. She also was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll during each semester of play.
“Kaja is very focused,” Lisac stated. “She is determined to work hard and put forth the necessary work in order to be successful. I am looking forward to watching her grow within the next two seasons at West Virginia.”
A Tough Road Ahead
Last season, the Mountaineers competed against nine ranked opponents, as they played in arguably one of the toughest conferences in the country. This season, five Big 12 opponents are ranked in the top 40 in the latest ITA national rankings, while nonconference opponents Virginia Tech and Marshall are ranked No. 30 and No. 52, respectively.
“We have been preparing for Big 12 play since the fall semester,” Lisac said. “We are doing the right things. We are continuing to grow as a team, and we are tougher. There is still a tough road ahead of us when it comes to preparing for the Big 12 schedule.
“We have to be match ready by mid-March. We have to be matched prepared. The Big 12 has not changed. We do not expect anything different this year. There are not a lot of secrets as far as what we have to do. We have to be more diligent in our preparation. We have to be more consistent in our preparation, and we have to be more consistent in match play.”
“The Big 12 has some of the top programs in the country, and we know that we have our work cut out for us. Our opponents will be ready to play, and we have to be ready to do the same. Once conference play starts, it is going to be far from easy.”
New Big 12 Tennis Policy is a Scream
Big 12 tennis is taking its fan experience to the next level. Players will have to learn to deal with chanting and cheering because of a new rule that allows fans to be as vocal as they would be at a basketball, baseball or football game. The rule was put into effect to generate excitement at matches and help draw bigger crowds.
Officially, the rule is called the Big 12 Tennis Decorum Policy. It went into effect during the 2015 spring season, and it states that “spectators are to behave under the same principles/guidelines of other sports. Fans can now have an outstanding impact on key matches this season.”
Many conferences, including the Big 12, have already changed the rules of the game in order to attract more fans and keep them in their seats by shortening matches with no-ad scoring (at deuce, the net point wins the game).
“I think it’s great that the Big 12 is stepping up and leading the charge,” Lisac stated.
“In my opinion, the rules have not changed, because college tennis has always been a more cheerful environment than professional tennis.
“In my opinion, the rules have not changed, because college tennis has always been a more cheerful environment than professional tennis.
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